House paint is sometimes sold in one-gallon containers. The containers, or cans, as they are commonly referred to, have wire loop handles (bails) attached near the top of the can. These handles or bails can pivot over the top of the can from one side to the other and are typically pivoted down against the side of the can when the can is not being carried. The upper rim of the paint can typically include an inwardly projecting lip, with the lip defining a channel for receiving and holding a corresponding downwardly projecting ring on the can lid. The interference fit of the ring on the can lid with the channel at the can's upper rim facilitates sealing of the lid to the can. The channel formed in the rim of the can also define a groove on the underside of the lip between the can side wall and the channel.
When painting with a brush, painters dip their paint brush into the can to load the brush with paint. This is an easy task when the paint can is full, as the painter simply dips the brush straight into the can to load the paint onto the brush. However, as the paint level in the can becomes lower, this task becomes more difficult. As the paint level lowers, the painter must insert the brush and their hand down into the can to retrieve paint. This usually either does not fully coat the brush, or otherwise causes the painter's hand and/or brush handle to come into contact with the paint rim or can, creating a messy situation. If the painter should be holding the paint can by the bail, the area for insertion of the brush is minimized, as the painter must insert the brush into the area between the bail and the can rim.
A second problem when painting from a can involves temporarily securing the paint brush during interruptions. In most manual painting jobs, there are many instances where the brush is laid down during the painting process, either allowing the painter to rest, do preparation work, or changing location that interrupt the painting activity. At these times, the painter is concerned with how to avoid dripping or losing paint from the brush. Traditionally, the painter lays the brush on or across the top edge of the paint can hoping to minimize the dripping of paint outside the can. However, balancing a brush on a can is less than secure as the brush can easily be knocked off. Also when the brush is positioned across the can, the brush handle normally picks up paint on the handle as the rim of the can normally has wet paint therearound.
Various attempts have been undertaken in the prior art to address these or similar problems. One example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,293 to Gizzi, which discloses an accessory that attaches to the bail of a paint can and provides a carry handle and a hook for holding the paint brush.
Another example is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,310, which discloses a combination paint brush holder and paint pourer that also includes an auxiliary handle.
Accordingly, there is a need for a painting accessory that easily and readily attaches to an opened paint can, that holds the bail in a position that is conveniently accessible to the painter and keeps the bail free of paint, and provides a means for holding the paint brush so that any drippage from the brush goes back into the can.